Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer will step down after the season, ending a 29-year run during which he turned the Hokies into one of the most consistently successful teams in the country.
Beamer, 69, is the winningest active major college football coach with 277 victories. He is 235-120-2 since taking over at Virginia Tech in 1987.
While Beamer gave no public indication he was planning to step down midseason, the decision announced Sunday by the school comes as no surprise. The Hokies have slipped in recent seasons and are 4-5 this year after beating Boston College on Saturday.
"I have always said that I want what is best for Virginia Tech," Beamer said in a statement Sunday. "Because of my love and passion for this great university, this program and our tremendous fans, I have decided after 29 years that it's time."
Beamer said he informed athletic director Whit Babcock and university president Timothy Sands on Sunday that he was stepping down.
"I was going to wait until the end of the season to make this announcement, but I've always believed in being open and honest with my players and coaches," Beamer said.
The Hokies won at least 10 games each season from 2004-11, but have lost at least five games each year since. Virginia Tech beat Boston College 26-10 on Saturday.
Beamer led the Hokies to seven conference titles, four in the Atlantic Coast Conference and three in the Big East. His greatest season was 1999, when Michael Vick and the Hokies played Florida State for the BCS national championship in the Sugar Bowl.
Before Beamer returned to coach at the school where he was a three-year starter as a defensive back, Virginia Tech football was an afterthought nationally.
But by the mid-1990s, Virginia Tech was contending for Big East titles with Miami.
The Hokies moved to the ACC in 2004 with Miami and surpassed the Hurricanes as the top program in the conference. Virginia Tech played in six of the first eight ACC title games.
"Coach will always remain one of the most beloved figures in college football history," Babcock said in a statement.
